In the news...

Headlines August 7, 2013

News:

A U.S. lawmaker helped create the drone industry – and has reaped the benefits. A drone reportedly flew over North Dakota last year, taking pictures of a meth lab. The drone’s flight log was released in July in response to a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil-liberties organization.

Business:

BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defense company, may upgrade its CV90 armored vehicle with a hybrid electric propulsion system as armies look to cut expenses for fuel that can be many times the price paid at a civil gas station.

Defense:

The cuts are simply too big. That was the key takeaway Tuesday from a discussion of the Defense Department’s Strategic Choices and Management Review, which proposes options for the various budget scenarios DOD may face as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

The Pentagon is hammering out details for potential cutbacks to Basic Allowance for Housing, a stunning change that could force nearly a million troops to pay more out-of-pocket cash for their own living expenses.

The U.S. Navy said Aug. 7 it will scrap a nuclear-powered submarine damaged by an arsonist last year rather than repair it, saying the $700 million repair cost could not be justified in a time of tight budgets.

Combat appears to have little or no influence on suicide rates among U.S. troops and veterans, according to a military study that challenges the conventional thinking about war’s effects on the psyche.

The chief watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction warned in a recent audit that the Pentagon is moving forward with a $772 million purchase of aircraft that the Afghan army “cannot operate or maintain.”

Astronomers have snapped a photo of a pink alien world that’s the smallest yet exoplanet found around a star like our sun. The alien planet GJ 504b is a colder and bluer world than astronomers had anticipated and it likely has a dark magenta hue, infrared data from the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii revealed.

Technology:

A consortium of companies will try to establish the business case for a reusable space plane in a new European Space Agency funded study. The concept under investigation is Skylon, a vehicle proposed by the U.K. firm Reaction Engines Ltd.

Turbulence in clear skies has plagued pilots for decades. It’s impossible to detect and at its worst, can cause injury to passengers. But a laser system, currently undergoing trials in Germany, could one day alert pilots to turbulence before it has a chance to hit the plane.

Local military discounts

News: Israel lobbies for more missile defense funds than Obama sought - For the second consecutive year, Israeli officials have asked the U.S. Congress to add more than $300 million to President Barack Obama’s budget request for their nation’s missile-defense programs. Business: Inside one of the most intense, and unusual, Pentagon contracting wars - The much-anticipated...

Italy resumes Navy exercise amid new tensions over Libya The Italian Navy is resuming exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, including near the coast of Libya, amid concerns about rapidly deteriorating security in the North African nation. The exercise began March 2 and includes anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-ship training operations. The exercise was suspended for a...

Two Boeing 702SP (small platform) satellites, the first all-electric propulsion satellites to launch, have sent initial signals from space, marking the first step toward ABS, based in Bermuda, and Eutelsat, based in Paris, being able to provide enhanced communication services to their customers. Whatís more, the satellites were launched as a conjoined stack on a...

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and SENER, a leading Spanish engineering company, announced March 2 that they have signed a teaming agreement that promotes the use of the multi-mission Predator B® RPA to support Spain’s airborne surveillance and reconnaissance requirements. GAASI is a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft systems, radars, and electro-optic and relate...

Raytheon has delivered a second Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System mission. The second VIIRS unit will fly ab...

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